Pianist Ben Sidran grew up in Racine, WI. In the early '60s, he played with Steve Miller and Boz Scaggs in a band called the Ardells at the University of Wisconsin. After Miller moved to San Francisco and secured a recording contract, he called on old friend Sidran to join him in the Steve Miller Band following the departure of original... [+] Read More

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Although neglected and underexposed most of his life, Bob Dorough is an adventurous, risk-taking master of vocalese (the process of writing and singing lyrics to instrumental jazz solos) and scat singing who has directly or indirectly influenced Mark Murphy, Michael Franks, Mose Allison, and Kurt Elling. The Arkansas native started out on piano... [+] Read More

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Although he has spent most of his career as a pop singer, Kenny Rankin in the mid-'90s started emphasizing veteran standards in his performances and using jazz accompaniment. He is an unusual jazz singer, sticking to the lyrics of songs but improvising and constantly altering the notes.

In 1967, Rankin released his first album, Mind... [+] Read More

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One of the few male jazz singers from the baby boom generation, Kurt Elling is an anomaly simply by profession. Given the depth and broad vision of his recordings and performance style, Elling is in a league of his own. Planning a career in the academic world, he discovered jazz and took to it naturally. Deeply influenced by singer and poet Mark... [+] Read More

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A shaved-head jack of many trades, veteran of many sessions, comfortable in genres all over the ballpark, Mark Ledford found the time to release his belated solo debut only in 1998 with a percolating update of Miles Davis for the acid-jazz generation, Miles 2 Go. As a trumpeter, Ledford follows the Miles muted line; his singing draws upon Jon... [+] Read More

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Mark Murphy often seemed to be the only true jazz singer of his generation. A young, hip, post-bop vocalist, Murphy spent most of his career sticking to the standards -- and often presented radically reworked versions of those standards while many submitted to the lure of the lounge singer -- during the artistically fallow period of the 1970s... [+] Read More

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Moe Koffman became famous for his 1957 hit recording of "Swinging Shepherd Blues," a catchy flute feature. Otherwise, throughout his career Koffman has been a popular soloist whose music ranges from cool-toned bop to jazz interpretations of more pop-ish material; his commercial successes have sometimes overshadowed his fine improvising talents.... [+] Read More

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Not unlike his namesake, Luther Allison, pianist Mose Allison has suffered from "categorization problem," given his equally brilliant career. Although his boogie woogie and bebop-laden piano style is innovative and fresh sounding when it comes to blues and jazz, it is as a songwriter that Allison really shines. Allison's songs have been recorded... [+] Read More

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Most rock & roll bands are a tightly wound unit that developed their music through years of playing in garages and clubs around their hometown. Steely Dan never subscribed to that aesthetic. As the vehicle for the songwriting of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, Steely Dan defied all rock & roll conventions. Becker and Fagen never truly enjoyed... [+] Read More

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New York resident Tom Lellis is part of what has seemed like an endangered species in recent decades--he's a male jazz singer. Lellis, whose influences have included Mark Murphy and Jon Hendricks (among others),

isn't as well known as he should be. But the talent is certainly there; in addition to being an insightful interpreter of... [+] Read More

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